The Mainstream: A Multiverse Fic
by Veritas Unae
Summary: All worlds, communicating with each other... It seems a little too good to be true. Is there some sinister plans at work behind the scenes? Massive cross-over fic. Reupload! Completely Planned! I don't update this often enough!
1. Ahem! Today

The Mainstream: Multiverse Chat Log Browser

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters that I am about to use. All credit for the Chat idea go to ****Cookie to Seki na****. ****Thank you to Seren-Chan for assisting me in the guidelines related to this sort of story.**

**Prologue**

**_Ahem... Today..._**

"Hm... What's this? A beta chip... Let's have a look at this..." Ash said. He looked closely at the envelope he had just received. It was addressed from someone he had never heard of, and inside was a computer chip. "Where're the instructions? Um... Somewhere over here..." He shuffled around in the envelope, unable to contain his excitement at the thought of something completely new.

* * *

Drew looked up from his notes, and saw that an envelope had arrived for him. "What now? More fan mail? ... I hope not." He smirked at the thought, before opening the envelope. Inside was a small computer chip, as well as a set of instructions, tucked in the corner. "Oh... A computer chip."

* * *

"Hey, I finally got my first computer! Now I can have a look at all of that stuff Pervy Sage keeps telling me about..." Naruto had just finished installing his software onto his new computer. Suddenly, a note slipped into his room, and there was a knock at the door. "Who's there?" Naruto stood up and went to the door. "A note...? Hey, it's a computer chip! Perfect timing!"

* * *

Ginta had been in Tokyo for a while now. He often returned to MÄR to see some of his friends, but most of his life was devoted to school recently. He had bought a new laptop to help him with the workload.

"Ginta, letter for you!" called his mum from the kitchen.

Ginta ran to the kitchen and opened the packet. "A computer chip...?" Ginta ran back to his room, and started to upload the driver, quite astounded at the expert mainframe and design.

* * *

**Let the chat begin.**

**Moderator begins the beta trial. All of those who have been given beta chips may now enter online.**

**CatchEmAll has logged in.**

**RamenNinja has snuck in.**

**SaviourOfMÄR has logged in.**

**CatchEmAll: **Wait... Snuck in?

**RamenNinja: **Yeah! Believe it!

**CatchEmAll: **How in Sinnoh do you sneak into a chatroom?

**RamenNinja: **With ninja skillz.

**SaviourOfMÄR: **Did he just say "skillz". Oh dear...

**BreakTheFlame has come through the firewall.**

**BreakTheFlame has connected to the LFVIL server.**

**CatchEmAll: **Oh great... More funny guys.

**BreakTheFlame: **Shut up. I really did have to come through the firewall...

**BreakTheFlame: **Apparently it's not made of fire... I couldn't bend it.

**SaviourOfMÄR: **Okay... So who exactly got this beta test? I've no clue who all of you are... I've never seen you in Tokyo.

**CatchEmAll: **Tokyo? Where's that? Are there Pokémon there?

**RamenNinja is sitting in the corner.**

**SaviourOfMÄR: **Oh, stop being such a sook.

**SaviourOfMÄR: **No... I don't even know what you're talking about.

**TheArtistFormerlyKnownAsDrew has entered.**

**TheArtistFormerlyKnownAsDrew: **Hey Ash... You got a beta test too, eh?

**CatchEmAll: **Hey Drew, Saviour's never heard of Pokémon...

**RamenNinja calls from the corner: **Neither have I. What is it?... A kind of Jutsu?

**Moderator steps in to explain.**

**CatchEmAll: **Hm... The moderator?

**Inverse Matrix: **Yeah, hi guys. I think I'm going to need to clear this up. You see... This internet is using a sonic speed connection that allows me to link to multiple universes at once...

**LetTheSPEEDMendIt has raced into the chat.**

**LetTheSPEEDMendIt: **Did someone say Sonic?

**Inverse Matrix sighs.**

**Inverse Matrix: **Yes, Sonic. I see the ANGEL server is working fine. Unfortunately. As I was saying... Saviour exists in the MÄRCHEN server, Drew and Ash exist in the P-MON server, RamenNinja is in the LFVIL server and BreakTheFlame... Wait... I haven't uploaded the AVATR server yet. How the hell did you get here?

**System is overheating. We are going into overload.**

**BreakTheFlame: **Wait, what's happening?

**System crashing.**

**Inverse Matrix: **Oh god, you overloaded the server! Everyone shut down your computers! I'll try and fix the servers... BreakTheFlame, I'll never upload the AVATR server at this rate!

**LetTheSPEEDMendIt: **Whoa, I'm outta here.

**SaviourOfMÄR: **Me too!

**CatchEmAll: **Wait up!

**RamenNinja runs out of the corner, and leaves the chat.**

**TheArtistFormerlyKnownAsDrew makes a run for it.**

**CatchEmAll:** OI! I said wait!

**Everyone /**runs off**/**** flees for their life.

* * *

**

"Damn, and it was going so well too... Ah well. I better upload the other servers. Else I'll never hear the end of this..."

* * *

(Foot Notes: Welcome back to the Mainstream! I have now completely planned the story and know exactly where it is going. Expect regular updates! Thanks to Seren-Chan for that heads up: I probably would have never had got this uploaded correctly without her. Thanks to Kanade, for staying with the story! I hope you like it!

Please rate and review if you read this: I want to know what you think!)


	2. Objection!

The Mainstream: Multiverse Chat Log Browser

**Disclaimer: Let's start at the very beginning... That's a very good place to start... Disclaimers are there.**

**Chapter 1**

_**Objection!

* * *

**_

Naruto stared at the blank computer screen in front of him. "Damn Pervy Sage, using my computer... Sigh... I guess I can't go back in the beta test... As much fun as that was." Naruto looked angrily at the computer screen. "Maybe I can go see if there's anywhere else I could get in..."

* * *

Ash checked under his bed. Ash checked in his drawers. "Where in Pallet did I put that damn beta 2 chip? Aw..." Ash sighed. "I heard that May got one... It would've been fun having some more friends on the chat..."

* * *

"It seems likely that this chat room is tied to a mystery of some sort. Let's investigate further, Luke."

"Right you are, Professor!"

* * *

**Let the test begin.**

**Moderator begins the second beta trial. Those who have second generation beta chips may now log on.**

**SnOwXGiNtA4ever has signed in.**

**WhatADrag has signed in.**

**CherryBlossom has signed in.**

**It'sAMe has jumped in.**

**Everyone: **Jumped?

**It'sAMe: **It's-a me, It'sAMe!

**CherryBlossom: **He said he'd be on... where is he?

**WhatADrag: **I didn't have to be here you know. What a drag...

**SnOwXGiNtA4ever: **Um... hello there everyone.

**I'mEmoAbadee has finally signed in.**

**I'mEmoAbadee: **Yes! The flames of passion have worked! Thank you for finally uploading that server.

'**CourseI'mSasuke has signed in.**

**CherryBlossom: **SASUKE!

'**CourseI'mSasuke: **Yes, it is I... Sasuke...

'**CourseI'mSasuke laughs.**

**Rose has signed in.**

**Rose: **Hm...? Hello everyone.

**SnOwXGiNtA: ** Hello there Rose. Nobody's really talking to me.

**CherryBlossom is looking deeply into 'CourseI'mSasuke's eyes.**

'**CourseI'mSasuke blushes.**

**CherryBlossom: **Huh... Sasuke doesn't blush...

**CherryBlossom: **Wait a minute...

**CherryBlossom: **LEE. OMG WTH WOULD YOU DO THAT!!!!!!!

'**CourseI'mSasuke: **Drat, I have been figured out. So long Sakura!

'**CourseI'mSasuke darts over the rooftops and leaves the chat.**

**WhatADrag: **What a drag. So long, losers.

**WhatADrag has dragged himself of the computer.**

**Rose and SnOwXGiNtA are having a long discussion about love.**

**Rose: **... And that is why I deserve him so much more!

**It'sAMe: **Hey, wait a second... Is that-a you, Rosalina?

**Rose:** Blast.

**Rose hurries off the planet's connection.**

**SnOwXGiNtA: **Aw... Now who'll talk to me?

**SaviourOfMÄR has finished school work and has logged on.**

**SnOwXGiNtA: **Oh... Hi...

**SaviourOfMÄR: **Is that you, Snow? I didn't know they had computers in MÄR!

**SnOwXGiNtA is blushing incredibly hard.**

**SnowXGiNtA: **We only got them recently...

**Co-Ordinate! has gracefully signed on.**

**Co-Ordinate!: **Hey, how's everything going, dears? The number one co-ordinator from Hoenn is in the house!

**Everyone is a bit weirded out...**

**Co-Ordinate!: **Don't be like that, huns! I know you're itching to be with the glorious Harlster.

**MyBlazikenBringsTehBoyz has signed on.**

**Co-Ordinate!: **Aw damn, look what the Skitty dragged in.

**MyBlazikenBringsTehBoyz: **Is that you, Harley? OMG why the hell are you in here?

**Co-Ordinate!: **Hun, you better believe it! I'm the one and only, and only one co-ordinator can stay. So, toodles, 'coz' I best be preparing my moves for the contests!

**Co-Ordinate! has gracefully left the chat.**

**I'mAnEmoAbadee: **God, this is soooo boring. You have all made the fire lord.

**I'mAnEmoAbadee has stormed off.**

**TheArtistFormerlyKnownAsDrew has signed in.**

**MyBlazikenBringsTehBoyz: **DREW!

**TheArtistFormerlyKnownAsDrew: **Drat... Hi there May...

**TheArtistFormerlyKnownAsDrew looks for an exit.**

**MyBlazikenBringsTehBoyz: **You're not thinking of trying to leave are you, Drewy?

**TheArtistFormerlyKnownAsDrew runs for his life.**

**MyBlazikenBringsTehBoyz: **Hey! Come back Drew!

**MyBlazikenBringsTehBoyz leaves with Drew.**

**SaviourOfMÄR: **So... Snow...

**SnOwXGiNtA: **Yeah...

**Both blush at each other.**

**A cry is heard from the MUSHROOM server: *Mario!***

**It'sAMe:** Oh noez! It's-a Peach! Bye-bye now.

**It'sAMe is in your kingdom, saving your princesses.**

**SnOwXGiNtA: **CherryBlossom, who are you waiting for?

**CherryBlossom: **A guy called Sasuke... But I won't know if it's him. T.T

**HOLD EVERYTHING!**

**Everyone: **What?

**Hershel Layton enters the building.**

**Hershel Layton is accompanied by TheApprentice, Luke.**

**Inverse Matrix: **What is the meaning of this? You can't just barge in here and demand all of them to stop talking... This is a chatroom. You're meant to chat.

**Sasuke has signed in.**

**CherryBlossom: **If this is Lee again... *stares evilly*

**Hershel Layton: **The reason, my good man, is that something is up with this particular chatroom.

**TheApprentice, Luke: **We have good reason to believe so.

**Sasuke: **It took me forever to decide on a name. ¬.¬

**Hershel Layton: **Right my boy. This very chatroom is linking in all the worlds, is it not?

**Inverse Matrix: **Yes, I suppose so.

**CherryBlossom: **How do I know it's really you, Sasuke?

**Hershel Layton: **And therefore, the wires from the modem must head from there to the world in question.

**Inverse Matrix: **Meaning?

**Sasuke uses Chidori.**

**CherryBlossom: **It really IS you!

**Hershel Layton: **I am charging you...

**System malfunction. Electricity surge.**

**Chat ended.

* * *

**

"Well, that was pointless." Sasuke sighed. However, he quickly noticed that his computer was sparking up. "Oh, just great. I had to use the Chidori, didn't I?"

In a great blast, his computer screen erupted in flames as it exploded apart.

Sasuke coughed out smoke, and rubbed his eyes. "Where's Shikamaru when you need him? What a drag..."

Sasuke had to laugh at this. Though he soon became serious, thinking on the last comment before the computer was destroyed.

_Charged with what?..

* * *

_

"It's no use, Professor." Luke said sorrowfully. "The other person must have short circuited the servers."

Professor Layton smiled. "It matters not, Luke. It looks as though we're going on a new assignment."

"The Case of the Mainstream!" Luke exclaimed. "I quite like the sound of that."

Layton chuckled. "Oh, Luke..."

Layton's face immediately became sterner. "I believe we will have some searching to do. It seems that our friend has been doing quite a bit of work. Let's start by gathering some information around town..."

* * *

The moderator looked around carefully. _How did he know...?_ He turned the implement in his hands around, before poking it into the air and concentrating.

Making an aerial slice in the air with the object, he soon found himself staring into another world.

* * *

(Foot Notes: So here we are. Chapters starting regularly at this point. The chapters 2 and 3 of the previous upload have been combined here into something a little more... correct. I'm really exicted for this and I hope you are too!

Stay tuned! VOA.)


	3. The Condo That Never Was

The Mainstream: Multiverse Chat Log Browser

**Disclaimer: Oh look, something new.**

**Xaster is my own original Organisation Unleashed character. Organisation Unleashed is based on Organisation XIII from Kingdom Hearts and was created by Xeliama. Xeliama, Xael, Xelia, Divox, Xammas, Axemsted and Darax are all copyright their users and have permission to be used in this story.**

**Main disclaimer is I don't own any of these other characters. But that's pretty obvious. Also, this chapter contains copious amounts of Hershel Layton. You have been warned! Not that that's a bad thing...**

**Chapter 2**

_**The Condo That Never Was**_

_**

* * *

**_

"No, no, get away!"

He ran as fast as his short legs could take him, the pursuer chasing, thirsting for his spirit. The golden world of Cittagaze stretched out in front of him, shining under a golden sun. The fast pace of the child reaching adulthood brought with it new buildings, strange structures, plants, as well as people, all young children who did not understand why the boy was running. There was nothing chasing him.

Overhead flew the assistant angel to Xaphania, Aurum. She fought back tears at her eyes as she watched the young child, cornered at the mercy of the deadly Spectre following him. The small child tripped and she turned away, knowing what was to come. A blood-curdling scream made her flinch. This was the reason why she hated her morning routes.

Spectre attacks were getting more common with each day. From the skies, Aurum could easily see the large amount of Spectres, moving with a slow pace, dragging their lifeless bodies around like some ghostly zombies. The light streaming down from the sun shimmered on Aurum as she sighed and flew onward, past Cittagaze, towards Xaphania and the angel's headquarters. She had to explain to her superior that they were still appearing. As she thought this, yet another Spectre materialised into view. Aurum knew that Xaphania had told the young boy Will that using his knife again could only cause trouble. Without dwelling on it longer, she flew off, through the gap between worlds to the universe of the angels.

* * *

"Have you heard anything about a chatroom, specifically, one that connects all worlds?" Layton asked one of the inhabitants of London, sitting at his table sipping his choice of brew. Layton and Luke currently sat outside one of the coffee shops scattered around London's great city. The man shook his head, believing Layton to be out of his mind. Luke sighed, and began walking away with the Professor.

"Why is this chatroom such a big deal, again?" Luke asked, looking up at the Professor's impressive figure, topped with his trademark top hat. It managed to mask the blinding sun from Luke's direction. "It seems like only yesterday that we didn't even know what a computer was!"

"It could be something positively dangerous, Luke. We just have to find another entry point, or information. Anything." Layton replied, stern-faced. Luke sighed. The professor never really gave him a straight answer, but he felt inclined to assist the professor through everything. That was simply what he did. He'd proven quite the sleuth before, and his help with animals was surely an asset to Layton's efforts.

As the two walked, Layton picked up an interesting piece of information from a pair of men on the side of the road. One seemed to discuss strange creatures appearing out of nowhere. The other nodded and said that they've never appeared here before. Luke looked at Layton, who had stopped and was looking at the two men.

"Excuse me gentlemen," Professor Layton began, tipping his hat to them, "where might I find these... creatures, as you say?" The two men pointed up street, where it seemed the people were running from something. Layton thanked the men and began running in the direction he was pointed in. Luke followed after him, holding onto his hat in the breezes that were flowing past. Soon an earthquake-like tremor shook the pair, causing Layton to grab hold of a near-by light pole for support. Luke fell over, grabbing the Professor's leg in hurried fear. Soon the rumbling stopped. The two of them dusted off and began at a faster pace, soon arriving upon a dreadful scene.

Four strange characters, not quite creatures but looking quite pale and lifeless nonetheless, stood at the end of this stretch of road. Each wore a long coat, black in colour, which formed the only part of their uniform. One, who wore goggles as well, seemed outraged at the other three, the youngest judging by height. Layton approached the group cautiously, beginning to hear snippets of conversation.

"... never let me do anything!" The youngest boy appeared to be debating to the others that he wasn't allowed any rights.

"And when we do, this happens!" Another member, one with bright purple hair and a strange, advanced looking contraption across his eyes, gestured across to a large array of fallen boulders.

"You need to control yourself, Axem." The only female member spoke, having brown hair with purple streaks. The final member stayed silent.

"Excuse me?" Layton spoke to the strange characters, all four turning as he did so. Luke nudged Layton, shaking his head in an 'I-don't-really-think-we-should-be-talking-to-them' way. Layton ignored him for the moment.

"Sorry, we're kind of- OH MY GOD IT'S PROFESSOR LAYTON SEE GUYS HE WAS HERE I WAS RIGHT!" The purple haired character immediately latched onto Layton, to the Professor's discomfort. The others quickly pried him off.

"Xaster here's a bit... obsessive..." The girl commented, apologising for the inconvenience. "We came here because he wanted to find you."

Layton laughed, smiling at the characters. "No harm done. It's lovely to meet such an interesting fan." Luke simply stared, gobsmacked. These characters... knew about Professor Hershel Layton? Who were they?

"Oh, let me introduce everyone!" The girl smiled. "I'm Xammas, number VI. This is Divox, number XXVIII." The silent man raised his hand and waved, staying mute. "He doesn't speak much, as I'm sure you've noticed."

The character named Xaster stood forward. "Sorry about that. It's just... it's you!" He jumped up and down a few times, while Hershel nervously chuckled. "I'm Xaster-IV, number XXV. It's such a massive pleasure to meet you!"

"Hold up, hold up! How do you know the professor? I've never seen you before!" Luke stubbornly exclaimed, his arms folded across his chest.

"Luke," Layton said, so calmly that Luke had no second thought to relax his arms once more, "these people come from an alternate world. They know of us because our actions exist in another form in their world."

Luke was instantly taken aback. "What?! Are you serious, Professor?" He looked at the characters, noting that each was in a distinctly different style to the rest of the world. "But... how do you know this?"

Layton clasped his hands together. "Apart from the fact that these people seem to appear out of nowhere, I have been doing some research." He pulled from his pocket a small book that had the words 'Organisation Unleashed Spottings' and a strange green mark on the cover. "This was compiled by a very avid researcher in the late 18th century. These characters match the descriptions quite perfectly. I checked it out of the university's library once I found out about this chatroom."

"What about me!" The youngest one pouted in a way similar to Luke's previous action.

"Introduce yourself, then." Xaster sighed. "Brothers... Whatcha gonna do?" He shrugged, and went back to assisting in fixing the problems caused by the youngest member.

The final member put down his goggles and smiled. "I'm Axemsted, member XXXIII. Sorry about your town. I didn't mean to break it like that." The other members groaned.

Layton smiled, before quickly remembering his suspicions. "Sorry if this is of any trouble, but do you own a computer in your world?" Layton stumbled over the word 'computer', still finding it hard to comprehend. "We can't seem to get into Mainstream from here any more. I assume you've heard of it?"

The four nodded, before Divox mentally began concentrating, closing his eyes. Layton and Luke didn't understand what was going on at first, until they looked up, noticing several lines of what they assumed to be toxic chemicals writing words in the sky. It seemed although Divox was mute, he had other ways of communicating. The toxins spelt out 'Is something wrong with the Mainstream?' in bold green.

Layton nodded. "From what I believe, the coder and main creator of the Mainstream is a thief. I must get back there to try and find out more about this chatroom." Hershel Layton quickly surmised his thoughts to the group. Luke simply stared at the poisonous words that hung in the air, before they disappeared once more.

"Alright then. Come with us back, then. I think Xaster's happy with this mission." Xammas smiled, before a large clock hand appeared in mid air. The pair of Luke and Layton were quite stunned to see the hand make a full revolution, creating a void of deep black in its midst.

"Ah, your inter-universal travel device! Such an interesting way..." Layton mused to himself. The four gestured for the other two to enter it, and they felt themselves falling into another world.

* * *

In The World That Never Was, a large portal appeared in the meeting room, startling the members congregated there. It seemed far too large to accommodate the group that had left earlier today. They were surprised to note that two extra Somebodies were brought back with the group, one sporting a tall top hat, and the other in a blue suit of around the late 18th to early 19th century. The four members in the room stood up, moving to meet with the four members exiting the portal.

"You brought him **back** with you?!" a girl in a uniform similar to the others cried out. "You actually brought him **back**. I can't believe you sometimes, Xaster." She shook her head in disgust.

"He **asked** to come back, Xael!" Xaster replied, turning around and going to boot up the computer.

"Professor Layton here needs to use our computer. The Mainstream is apparently run by a thief!" Xammas confirmed, sporting a shocked look upon her face.

Layton tipped his hat to the other members. "Sorry for the intrusion."

Xael placed her hand to her face, sighing. "Well, now that your here, we may as well introduce ourselves. I'm Xael, one of the superiors, member II. Don't cross with me." Her face seemed to never change from the frown that was permanently affixed on her face.

"And I'm the other superior, Xeliama, member I. Xael here's a bit... no, she's just always angry. Don't take it to heart." Xeliama smiled, and shook hands with the Professor.

"Hey there, I'm Darax, member V. Nice top hat you got there." Darax chuckled to himself, sitting down once more at the seats scattered around the room.

A tug came from the bottom of Layton's pants. A member slightly shorter than Axemsted stood there, looking up at him with the most sincere face Layton had ever seen. "And what is your name?" he asked, smiling at her.

"I'm Xelia. I want to kill you." She giggled out loud before proceeding to annoy Xaster while he waited for the computer to load.

Luke found that this day was full of surprises. "Kill him?! She wants to murder the Professor?! Oh my god, oh my god!" Luke found himself running around the room, yelling at the top of his lungs.

"Calm down, Luke!" Layton said, quickly bringing him to a stop. "I am sure that Xelia meant no harm by her comments. These people **are** heartless, you know." Luke just stared at him. The professor was incredible knowledgeable on all of these facts already. It seems he truly had done his research.

"It's ready, Layton!" Xaster called, bringing all the members out of their own little spaces and back into the room. "Do you want me to get the chatroom up?" Layton nodded in response, before turning back to Xeliama and Xael.

"How exactly do you travel through portals? Has it seen any unnecessary side effects?" Layton asked.

Xael simply stayed silent, glaring at Layton. "I want to throw you off a cliff."

Xeliama instead proved friendlier then her co-superior. "The portals we create open into corridors of darkness. From there, we can travel to any world, as long as we've been before. It's a Nobody exclusive." Xaster created another portal to demonstrate. "The exit is generally determined by the portal creator, though there have been cases where other Nobodies can change the portal's desired exit."

"Ah, interesting indeed." Layton commented, while Luke fidgeted in the background waiting for the chatroom to load.

"Divox and I aren't the best at making portals." Xammas said. "We generally stick together with other groups who are better at making them than us, like Xaster!" Divox nodded in affirmation.

"Alright Professor, it's all loaded now. I'll sign in... I can remember what happened last time." Xaster cried across the room. The group now all crowded around the computer as the sign in process began.

* * *

**Let the chat begin.**

**This is a second beta test trial. All bugs should be forwarded to .mg.**

**.:Xaster:. has signed in.**

**chatroom . updatelist! (newuser = .:Xaster:.);**

**Current users online: bowser-GWAH! (Bowser), EngardePARRY! (Will Parry), Lyralethia (Lyra Belaqua), It'sAMe (Mario Mario), SoulResonance (Maka and Soul), αναταя (Aang), MyBlazikenBringsTehBoys (May), Co-Ordinate! (Harley), δяεω~ (Drew), Dattebayo! (Naruto Uzumaki), 1000-Birds!Chidori (Sasuke Uchiha), billy:) (Billy), SaviourOfMÄR (Ginta Toramizu), SnOwXGiNtA4ever (Snow/Koyuki), CherryBlossom (Sakura Haruno), GatE|of|ResT (Rock Lee), .:Xaster:. (Xaster-IV), Inverse Matrix (Moderator).**

**User Count: 18**

**Lyralethia:** Oh, Will, I have to go...

**EngardePARRY!: **... :( Okay then.

**Lyralethia: **Bye!

**EngardePARRY!: **I have to go anyway...

**Lyralethia and EngardePARRY! have signed out.**

**bowser-GWAH!: **hey gais im bowsa

**billy:) : **oh hi bowsa IM BILLY!

**It'sAMe: **Bowser? It'd be nice if you-a used some-a grammar, hm?

**.:Xaster:. : **Wow, this is the most people I think I've ever seen on at once!

**bowser-GWAH!:** thats what she sed haha!!!1!

**.:Xaster:. :** Did that... make any sense at all? '

**billy:) :** u dnt make sense!

**.:Xaster:. : **B|

**Inverse Matrix: **Okay guys, let's not get in a fight here.

**OmniBen has signed in.**

**OmniBen: **Hey everyone! It's time for Ben to join the party!

**αναταя:** Nice to meet you Ben!

**αναταя: **I'm Aang.

**OmniBen: **Oh, hey there!

**OmniBen: **You know... I've always wondered what it looks like inside a chatroom!

**SaviourOfMÄR: **What do you mean, inside?

**OmniBen: **Going Upgrade!

**OmniBen has Upgraded into Main Server Link.**

**Inverse Matrix: **Wait... what?

* * *

"Whoa!" Ben cried, quickly dodging a blue panel speeding around by extending his metallic body outwards. As Upgrade, his most favourite past time was entering computers and looking at how they worked from the inside. But here... this was much different to anything he had ever seen. It looked like a massive tower, with screens extending upwards towards the top. Each screen had a person here, or a couple of people there. There were so many, whizzing around everywhere, sending messages privately, or publically. Some panels were black, indicating the person had gone offline. One of them he could read had the letters 'GCWIL' on them. '_Must be a server name.'_ he thought to himself. Something was missing though...

In most of the other software he had Upgraded into, excluding the Sumo Slammer game he was trapped in before, data would flow around freely in places like this. Instead, this tunnel was quite devoid of anything except the panels. He wondered why, before suddenly getting an alert. A small box appeared in front of him.

**User '.:Xaster:.' is contacting you. Will you accept?**

**Yes | No**

Ben was surprised at this, questioning why someone could firstly contact him and also why has was being contacted while was in the server. He accepted the request and one of the screens flew down to him, increasing in size. Ben Upgraded over the screen, so that he could see the user more clearly. What he thought was one user turned out to be ten. The main person in the window was a purple haired person, while others in the background varied dramatically in style, with strange hair styles and two people with completely different costumes.

"Yeah, what is it?" Ben asked the group of people.

A man with a large hat took over the screen. "It appears you have dimensional abilities! I'm recruiting a large amount of members to fix the Mainstream and set things right again. I can explain more soon..." Layton trailed off, stepping back from the computer as it emitted a short beeping sound. "Not to be rude, but is that meant to happen? It's rather annoying." The rest of the Nobodies around him followed suit, not sure what was happening either.

"I bet that little brat's uploaded a virus!" Xael cried out, moving towards the computer with raised fist as a bright flash emitted from the computer. The group shielded their eyes as a young boy toppled out into their world.

* * *

**User OmniBen has entered server 'CONDO'.**

The Moderator stared blankly at his screen. "Entered... another server? But... how?" The Moderator began tapping commands to try and find this user, but it appeared that the PC had somehow logged itself out and its user was now indeed in another world.

From the shadows behind the Moderator, two characters stepped out, one large and robust, the other lithe and feminine. They jumped him, the muscular being picking the Moderator up and the female moving to the computer in one fluid motion. The Moderator didn't really comprehend it was happening until a second too late. He instinctively picked up a USB lying on the computer desk and put it away in his pocket, flinching at a slight pain from his arm being held at an awkward angle to the rest of his body. The character grabbed his other arm and held him off the floor.

"Aha, so Ben is there too?" the creature said, paying no attention to the man in his grasp. "I can't wait to see the look on his face when we let this virus loose!" The character came in the light as he let out a maniacal laugh, allowing the Moderator to get a look at him. The muscular figure belonged to none other than Vilgax, one of Ben's many adversaries. He couldn't see who the woman on the computer was, but it seemed as though the two were working together.

"I'm uploading now, Vilgax. You can come and have a look for yourself!" the girl cackled, watching as the screen quickly filled with a grey colour, before returning to its previous state.

The Moderator struggled to get out of Vilgax's tight grip. "What do you think you're doing?! Whatever it is, you better stop now!" he called out, twisting from side to side.

Vilgax tightened his grip, causing the Moderator to cry out in pain. "You are in no position to make demands, little Earth man. We're simply carrying out our orders."

"You, taking orders, Vilgax? My, that doesn't sound like you at all." the Moderator managed to comment, resulting in more tightening and a grunt from Vilgax in response. Turning to walk out, the Moderator strained across to watch the girl change the passwords and lock the computer. He noted that the password was six letters long, but that was all he could see before being dragged out of the room. They took him into the server room where Ben was several minutes before and let him watch as millions of blue screens turned a sickly grey colour. Vilgax left the server room, shutting the light screen that was the only exit point for those unskilled in taking over appliances. He sighed, pulling the knife he still held in his pocket. This was his fault. What was he to do?

The virus was only the beginning.

* * *

"What happened?" Ben asked, shaking his head. "The watch timed out again! Why does it always do this to me?"

"Quickly, get away from there!" Layton exclaimed, pulling on Ben's arm and dragging him away from the computer. The Professor had noted that the chatroom was no longer functioning correctly and had noticed the words '**Uploading **' as part of the chat script. Suddenly, the entire computer turned to grey, and began following outwards from there.

"Ah! What's happening?!" Xammas cried, looking at the strange greyness as it spread.

"I knew it! A virus!" Xael said, moving to Ben with a closed fist raised.

Ben yelled in reply, "Hey, it wasn't me!"

"Stop it, Xael, it's not his fault! You four!" Xeliama motioned to the group who had met the Professor originally. "I want you to go with Mr Layton here and help him to stop this virus from spreading and whatever else he needs to do to get things right again!"

"London! That's where we need to go next!" Professor Hershel Layton had already planned out the next course of action in his head: find the knife's original owner.

Xaster pointed to the portal he made earlier, still glowing with a dark pulsing beat. "Then let's go! I made this to London anyway!"

"But what about you, Superior?" Xammas said, halting, as Layton and Luke quickly hurried into the portal, followed by Ben and then Divox. Strange miniature snake heads made out of what looked to be moving dots began exiting the computer, searching for anything they could control.

Xael pulled out her katana, morphing it into a scythe and smashed a snake head under its staff in a swift fluid motion. "We'll be fine. We'll try and stop this as long as we can. Go!" Xael said, pushing her towards Xaster who grabbed her and jumped into the portal, closing it behind them.

"Alright team, let's do this." Xeliama said, squashing another snake head. Darax began burning the creatures as Xelia began stomping around in joy, smashing several along the way before pulling out her twin swords. Xael transformed into a huge dragon, breathing her own fire into the fray. They began attempting to destroy their computer, not wishing to find out what happens when the grey that kept extending touched them.

They kept fighting but to no avail. Soon the strange greyness was upon them and they found themselves stuck in place. Xeliama closed her eyes, struggling to hold back the greyness creeping over her and the snake's marching towards the trapped group like miniature soldiers in formation.

_Please, Xammas, Xaster, Axem, Divox... Layton. Set things right again._

_

* * *

_

"Ah!" Luke cried out, being the first to exit the strange tunnels of darkness. He shook his head, looking around at the surroundings. There was a car there, and a light post there and... "Wait... what was that?" Luke said, looking quite strangely at an electronics store across the road, filled with strange devices he had never seen before. He looked around at the world as more characters fell through the portal.

"This isn't London..." Luke remarked.

* * *

(**Foot notes**: This is the first chapter that has been completely rewritten. Thanks for check it out! It's a Professor / His Dark Materials crossover mainly, but of course, there are far too many characters to just loop it into one category.

So yes, I hope you enjoy it! :3

Happy Reading,

VOA.)


	4. I'm Sorry, But Your London:

The Mainstream: Multiverse Chat Log Browser

**Disclaimer: Oh look, something ****repeated****.**

**Xaster is my own original Organisation Unleashed character. Organisation Unleashed is based on Organisation XIII from Kingdom Hearts and was created by Xeliama. Xeliama, Xelia, Divox, Xammas, Axemsted and Darax are all copyright their users and have permission to be used in this story.**

**Main disclaimer is I don't own any of these other characters. But that's pretty obvious. Also, this chapter contains copious amounts of ****Will Parry****.**** That's... interesting, I suppose.**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

_**I'm Sorry, Luke, but Your London is in Another Universe**_

"Hm. Yes. This way, I believe." Professor Layton headed down the street towards a house beyond. It was a quaint little house, thin between the houses on either side and two levels, both with windows that they could see visibly. There was a new coat of paint on it and it looked newly refurbished, or newly bought. It reminded Luke of the flat that he, the Professor and Flora lived in. Luke's mind floated back to Flora, probably all worried about where they were. He was sure that she'd be fine, but he knew they had to complete this mystery and get back to her as soon as possible.

As the group gathered outside the front door, Luke shifting uneasily and the Nobodies staring around the world, Layton knocked twice on the door and waited.

"Anyone going to explain to me why we're here?" Ben asked, fiddling with the watch on wrist in impatience.

"Your guess is as good as ours." Xammas stated, looking across to a smiling Divox and finding herself smiling as well. Axem stayed near Ben and Luke, drifting towards those of a similar age bracket.

"We require assistance from these people, if my assumptions are correct." Professor Layton said, stepping backwards as the door opened.

* * *

Will stared at his blank computer screen, seeming to try and gain information from its depths. Lyra had sent him an email telling him to shut down his computer and disconnect it from the internet. She mentioned that the alethiometer had told her that there was great danger in the chatroom where they had been able to finally talk again after all these years away from each other. It pained him to have to disconnect from it.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. He got up to get it, cries from Mary's workshop requesting he open it for her, and she'd be out in a minute. Urging caution he opened the door slightly, not exactly knowing who or what to expect. The world's he had been few had presented challenges, but none so great as the challenges he faced here in his home world. He was still on the run from the law.

"William Parry?" A voice called his name from the other side. "I understand your caution but you have no need to fear us. I know where your knife has ended up."

"My... knife?" he said to himself, now opening the door a bit more to reveal a man wearing an extravagant top hat surrounded by several other members, four of which seemed awfully pale and the other two younger than he.

"Who is it, Will?" Dr Mary Malone called, coming to the door herself now. She was quite frazzled, wearing a white labcoat and holding in her hands a pair of what looked to be sunglasses. "Oh..." She stared at the newcomers, not sure what to make of the motley crew before her eyes.

"Ah, Dr Malone." Layton tipped his hat before continuing. "I need to talk with you and Will about his knife. Would you let us in please?" Professor Layton was always the gentleman, Luke thought, even when the universe hung in the balance.

Mary opened the door instantly. "Come in then. I'm sure we have much to discuss."

* * *

"So we need your help, Will, and Dr. Malone. I'm not sure how these cretins have taken the knife, but they have shown their ability to use it. And I fear for this use. I know what happened last time." He glanced across the table where three of the four Nobodies, Ben, Luke and the Professor sat alongside Mary and Will. Xammas was currently preparing an afternoon tea in the kitchen.

"How do you know so much about our world already, Professor Layton?" Will asked, still somewhat sceptical of this strange group.

"Let's just say I've done my research, William." he replied, tipping his hat.

"Okay, hold up!" Ben said, standing to his feet. "I'm still lost. Why are we helping these people get their knife back?"

Will snapped back at him, "Not just any knife. The Subtle Knife."

"It's also known as one of His Dark Materials." Layton continued, before gesturing to Mary to begin.

"Well, from what we know, the Subtle Knife has been stolen by someone and is being used for nefarious purposes." Mary sighed, having learnt and repeated the story too many times. "The Knife is capable of cutting windows into other worlds. It was created in Cittagaze and mended by the ice bear Iorek Byrnison. Once opened, the portal into the other world, or any portal for that matter, causes Dust to flow through and into the Dust Abyss, erasing it and halting the flow of Dust in the world."

"Wow. Dust being lost forever sounds horrendous." Ben scoffed at the thought.

"Not just _any_ dust, Ben." Layton said. "Dust is also known as dark matter. It's akin to a cosmic consciousness through which all thought originates. Some people believe that this 'Dust'," and here he used his fingers to show distinction between the regular dust and the dark matter Dust, "is also original sin that caused Adam and Eve to defy God's word."

"The Magisterium," Will whispered, shuddering at the thought of those shady characters he and Lyra had avoided. He tapped his fingers on the table as he listened and Luke found himself drawn to the source of the sound. Will was missing some of his fingers.

"Gah!" Luke cried stepping away and causing his chair to topple. "What happened to your hand?!"

"It is the cost of the knife." Will replied glumly, staring at his hand to which everyone now noticed, partially fingerless. Ben sat down again as Luke, somewhat frightened of Will now, righted his seat and sat down. Xammas came in carrying a tray of assorted snacks and cakes, to which everyone else began helping themselves to.

"Sogh ten," Ben began, before swallowing the food still in his mouth. "So then, does that mean that any portal between worlds causes Dust to flow in that Abyss thing? Even the Null Projector from my world?"

Layton smiled. "Ah yes, this Null Projector... Yes, I believe it too would lead Dust to flow into the Abyss, but we may require its services." He stood up, having finished his food and went to stand behind Ben. "Do you think we will be able to rewire it to project worlds other than the Null Void?"

Ben blinked twice. "How do you know about the Null Void?" He stopped for a second and Layton looked as though he was going to speak. "Never mind. Yeah, I think we could get it."

"Good. I fear we will require a large amount of universal travel devices for what is to come..." Layton trailed of as Xaster stood.

"It's basic quantum mechanics. When something is developed that is deemed a parallel world, that world can be created." Xaster tried to explain it to himself more than anyone. This was a little above him in terms of understanding. As all eyes fell upon him, he quickly sat down again, bowing his head in embarrassment.

"No, Xaster here is right. I began researching this idea when I first received the beta chip for the Mainstream. From books I had gathered, I discovered a novel explaining Lyra, Will and Mary's exploits in their various worlds. As I researched this 'Subtle Knife' more, it turned out that there was legend surrounding it in my own world. If I had heard of it there, I can only imagine that the users of the knife must've gone through a large amount of universes in their travels. That is why I requested Xaster to take us here to 'real world' London."

"Are you saying we're not the 'real' London, Layton?" Luke asked, puffing out his chest and feeling inferior now.

"Aha, to us it is, Luke." He ruffled Luke's hat before assisting Mary with moving out the plates, now finished.

The Nobodies looked at each other, never believing that the portals of their kind could actually be removing thought in the world. Xaster sighed as he looked at the members still with him: his brother, Axemsted, his best friend, Xammas and her boyfriend, Divox. Each was quite a powerful Nobody with their respective element. And then there was Layton. He finally met Layton! And now he was helping Layton save all the universes! Could it be any better?

When Layton returned with Mary, all eyes turned to him. He had become a kind of leader to the group. Of course, he was the one who had brought them all together. Luke and Ben were chatting with each other, Ben showing off his Omnitrix and Luke in amazement of it.

"So Layton, how many of these devices do you know of?" Xaster asked, quite curious at the lengths to which their search would go.

Layton took a seat again. "There are several. We will need the help of several different people of several different worlds. We have your portals, though I did not count on having such a handy power at our disposal. Then there is Will's knife, which we need to recover. The other items are Ben's Null Void Projector, a Time and Space Machine and a Scythe belonging to the Grim Reaper."

"The... Grim Reaper?" Xammas was thoroughly shocked at the idea of having to bargain with Death.

"Oh, no need to worry. He's currently the 'best friend for life' of two children. It won't be hard." Layton smiled at the group, now extremely confused at the extent of Layton's knowledge. "Anyway, these devices will come in time. I believe now would be an opportune time to check the problems the virus causes. Xaster, could you open a portal to the World That Never Was?"

Xaster nodded, before a small clock hand appeared in the sky, startling Will and Mary. It swung around until Xaster could move again and put his head through the hole.

Mary quickly snapped around to Layton. "Wait, did you say a virus?"

"Oh, that's right. I must inform you of the danger associated with the Mainstream chatroom." Layton said, looking directly at Will and Mary now. Will cringed, noting that Lyra had been correct in asking him to disconnect.

_The alethiometer predicts the truth again..._ he thought to himself.

"There is a virus that was uploaded through the Mainstream chatroom that causes snakes and greyness to expand outwards from the computer screen. I'm not exactly sure of its full ramifications, but we shall soon see."

Mary looked hastily at Will. "Quickly, unplug the computer!"

"Already done," he softly replied. Mary and Layton were astounded at his almost psychic prediction. "Lyra sent me an email."

"The alethiometer?" Both Mary and Layton asked the question at the same time. They looked at each other, before looking to see Will nod in responce.

"You might want to have a look at this, Professor." Xaster said, pulling his head away from the portal and extending it so that most people could see into the world beyond.

It was like another world. Everything was grey. From the outside, which is where the portal showed, the Condo looked as though it was a giant stone monolith, foreboding and menacing. Xaster thought he saw movement in the shadows of the Condo, but he figured it was just fear manipulating his perception. As they looked onto the destruction, something flickered through Layton's mind telling him that something was coming.

Suddenly, the four friends they had met before leapt from the shadows. Xeliama, Xael, Darax and Xelia, like the world, were covered entirely in a grey sickness. Layton noticed that upon their foreheads was a strange symbol, akin to an N and its shadow beneath inside a snake's head. He tried to store the image in his mind as he returned to the real world with the others, Xaster quickly shutting the portal. Xael's arm managed to reach through before it closed but some quick thinking on Xaster's part sent a cube towards it, forcing the arm back through the hole. The group lay on the floor, some taking deep breaths, clutching hearts or heads, and all contemplating what they had just seen.

This virus was taking control of worlds.

* * *

(**A.N.** Double update today! And then I should be able to put up Chapter 5 soon, it's half finished. ^w^)


	5. The Cake Is a Lie

The Mainstream: Multiverse Chat Log Browser

**Disclaimer: If you want Disclaimers, please double check that you have not missed the plot as well. I'm almost certain the story starts back in the Prologue.**

**If you want a tally of visited worlds, I suppose I can update you a little. So far, the story has visited physically (as of Chapter 3) Professor Layton's London, The World That Never Was, William Parry's London as well as the Mainstream Server Column Room and the Subworld of the Moderator and the secret organisation plotting to take over the world. Need more information? Read on!**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 4 **

_**The Cake Is a Lie**_

"Come on, Linden! He's getting away!" Max cried out to her partner tailing behind her as she rounded a corner. Max was chasing a man accused of grand art theft in the backstreets of Japan. She thought Japan would be a fun place to visit, but not as part of a mission. They just had to tempt her on another mission with the thought of going to Japan, didn't they?

"I'm right behind you, Max!" Linden cried, struggling to keep up with her. The Super Suits, although designed for maximum comfort, didn't seem to take chafing into account, and Linden felt it every time he took a step now. They had been tailing this man through alleys for a good half an hour now and he showed no sign of let up.

Linden caught up to Max finally as they went around a bend. "What?! Where did he go?!"

They had mistakenly played right into his hands. Now at a dead end, the only entrance which they had come through was sealed with an electric fence which was turned on at the wall by the thief. He chuckled to himself, leaving the two to their demise and taking off back out of the alleys the way they had come.

Max sighed as she looked at the gate. She knew it would be easy to climb out normally, but this wall seemed triple reinforced. Not only was it electrocuted, instead of being made of nice, easy to climb wire, it was twisted into a threatening looking wire alloy that would rip any gloves or shoes they put on to try and scale it to threads. And, to make matters worse, it was taller than both of them by quite a height.

"Max?" Linden asked, tugging at her arm.

"Not now Linden! I'm trying to figure out a way out of here." She sighed. Sometimes Linden seemed so distracted. Instead of rebutting, like she assumed he would, he just dragged her away from the gate. "What do you think you're-"

But she cut herself off, noticing that he was dragging her towards a possible exit. A large yellow portal, which had just appeared, seemed to be a saviour to them. In its spiral glow was a man with a top hat and two younger boys either side.

"Quickly now! We don't want anyone seeing us here!" Layton cried out, extending a hand which Linden grabbed. They were pulled into the world beyond, as the portal shut behind them, leaving nothing in that small cage trap but some stray pieces of paper and the scuff marks from Max's shoes.

Upon entering the world, Linden stumbled forward, releasing his grip with the Professor. Max, however, wasn't so lucky, flipping head over heels and landing upside down, colliding with a rubbish bin located in the living room. Linden covered his mouth as he let out a small chuckle, before Max glared at him and he stood silent and rigid.

"What do you think you're doing, running into portals like that? You don't know what could've happened." Max crossed her arms and looked across at her partner, ignorant of the world around her where people were busy running left and right gathering supplies or talking about devices that needed to be found.

"I went with my gut." Linden said, smiling at her.

"I must apologise for the haste," the man in the top hat, Professor Layton, began, "but I do not know how many worlds will end up being touched by the virus. I fear that one of the people in your own world, Max, has spread a virus to your world, as well as ours."

"A virus? Like... a computer virus?" Max asked the Professor, now paying attention to the world around her.

"Much worse." Layton replied with regret. "Introductions are in order first!" The Professor smiled at the new recruits to their universal squad. "My name is Professor Hershel Layton, an archaeologist by trade."

"And expert mystery solver!" One of the boys butted in, causing Layton to chuckle.

"And this little lad," here he indicated to one of the young boys from before, "is Luke, my self-proclaimed apprentice."

"A pleasure to meet you, Professor Layton." Linden said, shaking hands with him.

"This is Ben Tennyson." Layton indicated to the other boy who came through the portal. He was holding a strange device in his hands and an even stranger contraption on his wrist. "The people in black cloaks are members of the Organisation Unleashed, Xammas, Xaster-IV, Axemsted and Divox." Each cloaked member waved an arm in return before continuing with their various duties. "And then the other two are William Parry and Dr Mary Malone. This world is theirs, and they are our gracious hosts!" William and Mary indicated in turn before returning to their own jobs.

"Nice to meet you all." Max said, somewhat cheerier than before.

"Now then, what we're all doing. If you can help with any of these jobs it would be much appreciated. Oh, right!" Layton clapped his hands together. "Can I assume you have the Time and Space Machine on your person?"

Max and Linden exchanged a glance, the same thought crossing their minds. _How does he know about the Time and Space Machine?_

Layton let out a chuckle. "Yes, I know of your device. It happens to appear in a novel in this world. In our world it was passed around as rumour and speculation. I discovered information about it in the mysterious town of Folsense from an elderly friend of mine."

Linden nudged Max. "I'm pretty sure we can trust a professor, don't you?"

Max chuckled at Linden's stab at a joke. "Alright. Yes, we have the device with us."

"Excellent! Oh, while I'm on the topic, can I get everyone's attention? I think I need to make something rather clear before we continue." Some heads moved up from their work, now listening in part to the Professor's words, while still trying to do some odd fixing here and there.

"We all come from alternate worlds and as Xaster already discussed, we exist because in another world someone made it so. The one 'original' universe exists which has made all subsequent universes. But that's another story. Will, may I borrow your DS? I notice you have a copy of my game." Will handed to him his DS console and a game pack. "Let me pass this around. You'll see quite clearly how I've existed in this world. Such interesting technology... Nevertheless, I am, from what Will tells me, a 'video game' in this world."

Several characters stared at the DS with interest, particularly Luke and Ben. Each person saw a computerised version of the professor staring back at them, either in the midst of a puzzle or moving about a world.

"Alright then, so I'll show you what everyone's doing." He gestured for them to follow him as he walked around to the various areas, Ben getting bored and chasing Luke around the house. Layton smiled at the boys' fun. It was nice to see Luke playing like a regular boy for once, rather than just tagging him around.

They had reached Mary's small workshop, where Xammas, Divox and Axem were assisting Mary in the creation of what looked to be orange sunglasses. "These," Layton remarked, holding a pair, "are a new version of Mary's own Dark Material known as Amber Specs. They're much easier to carry around and they allow us to see Dust. Dust is dark matter, and is responsible for comsic consciousness. Try a pair." He gave Max and Linden a pair to try. When they put them on, each person exploded into a million tiny golden particles.

"Whoa." Max and Linden gasped.

"I used the materials from my prototype to make them. Axem's been a great help with his knowledge of stones, so he's been helping to create concentrated amber." Axemsted beamed in the knowledge that he was able to assist.

"Shall we move on?" Layton asked the two, who nodded.

They moved to the other side of the small house, now reaching Will's computer room. "Here, we're working on getting a 'ghost linkup', or so I'm told, to the main server. All this technology stuff is so new to me." Layton smiled at the two of them. "We will require the assistance of your Time and Space Machine once we get the ghost linkup working."

"So there was this chatroom and they used it to spread a computer virus? Is that what you're telling us?" Linden asked the Professor.

Layton nodded. "Precicely. Now Xaster and Will are attempting to get a connection again."

Xaster stood up from his work, as Will entered the final strand of code. "It's my guess that they only released the virus file once, expecting everyone to be in the chatroom that they wanted to infect. I'm certain there are other users out there who weren't online, for reasons of their own. Like Will here."

Layton took over once more. "When we managed to get a basic code up, Ben here went back and grabbed the Null Void Projector." He indicated the device he'd been holding, now sitting on the table in Ben's haste to play. "It's another device that cuts a portal between worlds. It seems very safe as well, but I won't know that for sure yet." Linden and Max looked at each other again. Linden just shrugged and they both went back to listening again.

Will pressed enter on the computer and instantly all that gathered around his screen saw the tall tower room that Ben had entered when he first travelled into The World That Never Was. They had successfully connected.

"Alright then Ben, I believe this is your speciality." Layton gestured to the screen.

Ben moved towards the computer, pressing the button to activate his watch's controls. "Going Upgrade!" Ben switched to the Upgrade icon and slammed down hard on the watch. Soon his body morphed into the metalloid Upgrade and he took over the computer once again. Soon, he was gone, leaving Linden and Max quite astonished, and Will and Mary looking at each other in confusion.

_Had he just... transformed?_

_

* * *

_

Inside the tower again, Ben began hopping from screen to screen in search of his home world. Hopefully Grandpa Max and Gwen had shut down the computers by now. He had asked them to when he returned to the world the last time. Soon he found the server connection, which read BEN10 in the corner. He absorbed this screen before colliding it with the screen he came with. As Upgrade, he morphed into a high speed optic fibre cable between the two.

And at the bottom of this tower sat a young man, watching intently. _People... survived the virus._ He stayed silent, preferring instead to listen to the conversation.

"Nice to see you again Grandpa Max!" Ben exclaimed, relieved to see him in one piece. "Oh. Gwen, you're still here." Gwen cried something out in outrage but he couldn't hear it.

Grandpa Max looked at his screen where the sound was coming from, expecting to see his grandson again. Instead, he was met with a man in a top hat.

"This is Professor Layton," came Ben's voice from the computer. "He needs to talk to you about the Projector."

"It's nice to finally meet face to face, Professor Layton. Ben says great things about you, and he never says great things about anyone!" Max joked.

Professor Layton chuckled as well. "Why thank you, Ben. Now, Max, I'm here to talk to you about the Null Void Projector. Does it have any problems we should be aware of?"

"Hmm..." Max put a hand to his chin. "The Null Projector, now that it's been retuned, could be more likely to implode and create a void to somewhere. It's unlikely, but I'd be careful."

"I see. We will watch out for that then. You have removed your computers from the internet and reconnected them after your virus passed?" Layton asked.

"All finished. I managed to get a small sample of the virus using Plumber tech but it began attacking all my files. I planted a tracker and ejected it to the main server tower but it hasn't showed up since." Max replied.

* * *

_Yeah, that's because I picked it up._ thought the man sitting at the bottom of the tower.

* * *

"Alright. If you get any information... Oh wait, can we get information on the go if we're in different universes, Will?" Professor Layton turned away from the screen to see Will shaking his head.

"Um, Professor?" Linden spoke up.

"Yes, Linden?" he replied.

"I might have an idea. Can Ben extend out of the screen a little?"

"No trouble here. I'm Ben 10! I can do anything!" Sure enough a smaller Ethernet cable extended from the corner of the computer screen.

"Max, was it?" Linden smiled, remembering Maxine's male-ish name. "I'm connecting my palm computer. Can you get its details and server? You can contact us wirelessly then."

"And if you give me that, I'll work on upgrading it to work through universes." Ben replied, coating the entire device with his Upgrade and shifting its parts around.

"Excellent idea, Linden!" Layton exclaimed. The rest of the group returned to their tasks, noting now their presence was no longer necessary and that their plans were running smoothly.

* * *

"So, they have returned, Aurum?" Xaphania asked, looking at her second-in-command. Aurum solemly nodded in response. "I warned him, did I not, of the error of using the knife?"

"You did, ma'am." Aurum replied, continuing her nodding.

"Alright." Xaphania sat, head resting upon her hands clasped together. "I must go and visit the young girl Lyra now." She stood to her feet, majestic wings spreading wide behind her. "There is an illness spreading through the worlds and we cannot lose any vital members." Aurum agreed once more and stepped back, allowing Xaphania to take flight, passing through the opened corridors between the world of angels and the other worlds of the world.

* * *

Lyra tapped her fingers on her desk. _I hope Will is alright... The alethiometer is never wrong._ She stared blankly at her screen, before standing up and looking outside the college room. _I wish something would just happen!_

* * *

"Okay, so then you put the time here, but we won't need that, and then the destination can be entered here. I think we'll be able to just connect it to the internet and select a server name. It should be able to follow the connection and send you to the world on the other end." Linden held the Time and Space Machine, Max standing between Layton and the device, still a little insecure about showing it to other people.

"I think I should test that theory." Xaster said, stepping back from the computer with a cable in hand. "If something goes wrong I can just portal back to here, no biggie. I need to increase my worlds anyway. I can only travel to worlds I've been to before."

Ben grabbed the machine off Linden, ignoring Max's cries to be careful with it. "Okay. The server name is B-E-N-1-0." He clicked the buttons to enter the name. "I saw it when I was connecting to Gramps."

* * *

The skies over Cittagaze were the same as every time Aurum had visited them. She had grown a fondness for this world over the past few weeks and had enjoyed coming to its refreshing breezes and heat, a nice mix of the two creating that perfect temperature. As much as she hated the Spectres, they had good taste in location.

Yet another cry from a youth seeing a Spectre for the first time. She sighed, wishing nothing more but to be able to help the girl. She followed the cries, flying around the town until she reached a little girl in the centre of the square looking up to a Spectre, pointing madly to her friends and asking why they didn't see it. She flew a little closer, still out of the Spectre's reach. She was clutching a small stuffed animal in her hands and swinging her head, wishing the Spectre to be gone. With each flick her golden hair glinted in the sun's light before dropping back into the shadows once more.

And then she was gone. A victim of the Spectres. Aurum had looked away.

* * *

"Now you just press that and you should be teleported." Linden said, pointing to the 'Teleport' button on the device.

"Alright. Here goes nothing." Xaster pushed down on the button and held Ben's hand as they dissipated into the internet cable and through to the other world.

* * *

Suddenly and without warning, the Spectre before Aurum's eyes grew in size. As it expanded, the houses behind it began getting knocked over and scared children ran in fear. Aurum, on the other hand, was paralysed by the same fear, hovering in place, too frightened to run. The Spectre, not used to this kind of manipulation, began flailing wildly, a hand sending Aurum flying through a portal, recently opened by a suspicious character before he instantly disappeared back into nothingness.

* * *

Not soon after the two had disappeared and everyone stood in wait for something to happen, a clock hand spun around in the air and Xaster and Ben exited, looks of glee on their faces. "It works." they chimed joyously in union.

And then a thump. Everyone stood still for a few seconds, before Will made the first move and turned towards the door. He stood at the door, not exactly sure what to do. He pushed the door slightly ajar, trying to carefully open it. The weight of the unconscious body upon it caused the door to swing open completely.

Onto the floor fell the unconscious body of Aurum.

* * *

(**A.N.** I'm thinking of uploading this story to my deviantART account as well, though perhaps not until I've finished it on here and gotten feedback from users. Also, Chapter titles in the top aren't the full ones, because there's not enough space. If there's a colon, it's only a part of the title. Apparently, Fanfic doesn't like ellpsis in the titles, or hyphens. '

VOA~)


	6. Luke, I Am Your Professor

The Mainstream: Multiverse Chat Log Browser

**Disclaimer: Fine. You want specific disclaimers? Too bad. I'll probably have all my disclaimers in the last chapter to prevent spoilers. Just note that the only character of mine I'm using is the Moderator. And Xaster, but he's from Organisation Unleashed, which is based off Organisation XIII.**

**This story is the most fun I've ever had writing. Please don't neglect the poor little review button. It's much appreciated and considered as well.**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

_**Luke... I **_**Am**_** Your Professor...**_

The ever growing group was gathered around the bed, someone using a stool here, another person just sitting on the floor. They were all scattered, waiting for the angelic creature lain upon the bed to awake. Some, like Luke and Max, were wringing their hands about in suspense, wondering when the strange being would wake. Others were just staying calm, wishing for the best. Will had explained to them that this was an angel of the original world Layton had mentioned before, the world of Dust itself.

Her eyes finally flickered open. A collective exhale filled the room. Motion seemed to return to them, as she began to slowly wake.

"Xammas, shall we get some food and water for the angel?" Mary asked, standing to her feet. Xammas jumped to her own feet and nodded happily, content with the fact that the angel was awake.

Aurum began to scream. Everyone stood still, cringing at the sound, except for Layton who went to the foot of the bed and began rubbing her legs gently, as a parent would do for a crying child. "Calm down. You have nothing to fear here. Tell us you name, to start with." Layton began. Luke noted the Professor's resourcefulness, trying to distract the angel from whatever was scaring her. He was an amazing man.

She looked around at her surroundings, noting that she was no longer in the sunset hues of Cittagaze. "Au- Aurum." the angel stuttered out, staring around the room at unfamiliar faces.

The Professor smiled at her, reassuring her. "Aurum. A lovely name. It means _gold_ in Latin, does it not?" Aurum managed a nod. "Lovely. Now, my name is Professor Hershel Layton. All of these people here are trying to help reverse a virus that has spread throughout the world. It seems to be controlling worlds and turning people into ill-looking shells of their former selves."

"An illness..." Aurum trailed off, recalling what Xaphania had mentioned to her before leaving to check on Lyra. "Professor Layton... Nice to meet you." Aurum found she was calming down now.

Luke stood to his feet. "So why were you so scared, Aurum?"

"Slow down Luke!" Layton chuckled at his apprentice's hastiness. "Let her tell her tale in her own time."

"It's alright, Professor. I think I'm good, for now." She sat up on the bed as Mary and Xammas returned with a glass of water and assorted snacks for everyone. It was late now, the sun having passed below the horizon some time ago. A dark shadow hung over the room, though it was lit aglow by the ceiling light.

"I was flying over Cittagaze, one of the other worlds, and I was watching a young girl get attacked by a Spectre-"

"A what?" Luke interrupted. Ben nudged him to stop and he sat back down again, embarrassed.

"Spectres are created when the Subtle Knife cuts between worlds," Will responded. "They are beings that take the very life out of adults. Children are immune to them because the Dust hasn't settled on them yet."

"Yes, and this Spectre was taking the life out of a girl who had become of age. It's a horrid sight. A few seconds after it had finished with her, it began growing in size. I've never seen anything like it. It began flailing wildly, and the next thing I can remember is waking up here." Aurum took a sip from the water, her throat becoming dry and coarse from speaking.

"Lie down again Aurum. You need rest." Layton softly asked of her. "It is as I thought."

"What is, Professor?" Luke asked.

"Come away from her. I'll explain in the living room. Xammas, can you leave some snacks here for Aurum?" Xammas nodded enthusiastically before pulling out a separate plate and shifting some of the lighter sandwiches and biscuits to it. The rest of the group began filing out of the room. Layton left the room last, turning the light off and shutting the door, leaving Aurum to sleep as need be. "We will recover the knife. I promise you that, Aurum."

The group gathered around the table, resetting the chairs and taking a seat. Layton stood at the top of the table, pacing backwards and forwards as he relayed his thoughts. "Will and Mary can support me here that the cost of using the Subtle Knife is extremely high." Both of them looked at each other, nodding solemnly. "Each cut of the Subtle Knife creates a Spectre, and from what you've heard, this is a horrid side effect to such a powerful device. Now that this device is in the hands of someone who doesn't understand the consequences, who is using it instead to create portals that allow connections for the Mainstream. I don't think it is his fault, but we must recover the Subtle Knife to prevent any other portals from being made."

"But then, why did the Spectre grow so suddenly?" Xaster asked, looking to Layton for an explanation he was sure the Professor had.

"The Time and Space Machine's side effect, I'm afraid."

Max and Linden looked at each other and seemed to jump to their feet in perfect synchrony, both protective. "We didn't know!" they both cried in unison.

Professor Layton raised his hand to the pair. "Yes. I know. It is not your fault. But we know now. We must be careful in the future with these devices." Layton said calmly.

Luke looked to the Professor. "You can't mean to say we're still going to _use_ the Time and Space Machine after this?!"

Xaster looked across to Luke. "I think the Professor wants to build up worlds I can travel to."

"Precisely." Layton said, looking across the table. "Most of the worlds we come from should now be immune to the virus, or at least for the time being. But perhaps we should resolve to use the Null Projector, at least until we have to split up or something similar. Its cost is a lot less likely to occur." The group mumbled in agreement, not sure what to make of the current situation.

Max pulled out her palm computer, buzzing in her hand as if on cue. "You may want to come here, Layton." Layton travelled across to see a frazzled man on the screen.

"Evening, Steinberger." Max said cheerfully.

"Ah, Max, excellent to see you." Steinberger patted his brow with a hankerchief. "The blocking is going well. We should be able to keep London safe from this 'Mainstream virus' thing."

"This is Professor Layton. Layton, this is the Administration Manager of Spyforce and our good friend, Steinberger. With the upgrades the palm computer, I contacted him and he's made sure that our world stays virus-free." Max handed the palm computer to the Professor, Layton turning it around in his hands as he did so.

"My, all this technology is so interesting... It reminds me of a puzzle I used to tell back at home. But that's for another time."

Steinberger's face filled the screen, trying to get a better look at the man in the top-hat staring back at him. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Professor Layton."

"And to you too, Steinberger. You have some excellent agents in your employ, from what I have seen." Layton replied. "Am I doing it right, Max?" She nodded, stifling a laugh at Layton's incompetence with technology.

"Well thank you, Professor. I'm glad they're making a reputation for themselves." Steinberger wiped his brow again, and chuckled. "I don't really have any other news, but I will update you on any other news we may get. Until then, good luck on your new mission, Max and Linden. It seems the universe is counting on you."

Layton handed the palm computer back to Max. "Will do, Steinberger." She clicked the button to end the transmission, the screen going blank.

"Well that was nice." Layton said, smiling. "So now, Xaster, it looks as if you're going with Ben to Max's world... Max, Linden, Ben's been there once, as you saw, but this time I'd like you to get them back to your Spyforce headquarters. Do you think you can help them?" Max and Linden nodded in response, rising to their feet at the same time Ben and Xaster did. "Can I remind you all then that Xaster's portal, although causing Dust to flow into the dark corridors and invariably into this... Dust Abyss of sorts, it still remains the safest way to travel." Trailing off, he muttered to himself. "Closing that Abyss would be the one sure-fire way to end this truly horrid nightmare, I believe. But we will have to see."

Layton returned to the others. "As for the rest of us, I believe sleep is in order. Rest now, so we can see what tomorrow will bring."

* * *

"Come on, Dawn, faster! They're gaining!"

Ash and Dawn pushed themselves to run, fleeing from three strange, greyed out characters, each with a symbol on their heads resembling a snake head. Sinnoh was being overrun by a strange plague, having spread from Hoenn across the seas and oceans. It seemed like nothing was going to stop it from taking over Sinnoh as well. A great grey wave was sweeping over the nation. The two of them were running from it for fear of finding out what it actually was.

"May, Harley, Drew... They all got infected by this virus thing?" Dawn asked Ash, running along the stretch of land between Snowpoint City and Mount Coronet. Snow whirled around them in the intense blizzards of this area. They were struggling to continue through the deep snow but their pursuers continued like it was nothing. It was as if they were nothing more than shells of their former selves, pushing themselves on like an immovable force. Ash chose to look forward towards safety rather than look back to his former friends.

"Yes, Dawn, for the fiftieth time, they came here infected in a black cloud thing and started chasing us, telling us to 'conform to the new world order' or something like that! Weren't you listening?"

"Sorry, Ash, if I was more concerned about my safety!" Dawn replied, angry at his stubbornness. "But... didn't they say something like 'become mainstream' though?" Dawn asked, looking at him. "You should at least get your facts right!"

"Mainstream!" Ash clicked his fingers together. "That's where this virus came from! We were moving from camp to Snowpoint, weren't we? It must've been uploaded then, while we were on the move. That's why we missed it!" Ash slammed his fist down on his palm.

"Excellent reasoning Ash. Now run!" She grabbed his hand and pulled him out of a particularly deep part of snow. Together, they kept running, out of the snow now and almost at the foot of Mount Coronet.

"Ash! Can you hear me?" called a voice in the pair's mind. "I'd recognise that strong-willed courage anywhere!" The pair looked around as they ran, searching for a Psychic Pokémon that would have relayed these thoughts to them.

"Up there!" Dawn pointed to the peak of Mount Coronet. Large Pokémon decended, blocking out the sun with their bodies. Landing before the pair was Dialga, Palkia and Arceus, deities of this realm.

"Time grows short, you two. We must escape this universe. Palkia has discovered a sterile world in his travels. We must flee, now!"

"But what about Sinnoh, Arceus? What happens to it?" Ash asked, standing still, the three pursuers growing ever closer, the grey not far behind them. Ash could hear their cries on the blizzard's winds.

"Uxie, Azelf and Mesprit are remaining to ensure that the pollution is not permanent. Giratina is keeping his world open to watch what is happening and will inform me of any happenings. They will be fine." Using the Psychic plate Arceus had managed to recover, he levitated the humans onto Dialga and Palkia. "Quickly, hop upon these two, and we will leave." Ash held tightly to Dialga as Dawn clung to Palkia. With a screech, Palkia ripped open another world, and soon the deities and humans were gone, May, Harley and Drew crying out shrieks of illegible words and phrases, the greyness flowing past them and onto Mt Coronet.

The sun descended upon the world of Pokémon, shadows of black mixing with the world of grey to create a monochrome hue of darkness.

* * *

Day broke upon the Rustbucket, the light flittering through partially broken shutters. Grandpa Max stretched out, yawning and opening his eyes to the light. He rubbed them, moving out of his bed to the front of the RV. They were parked outside the Plumber's base at Mount Rushmore, reconstructed with much care to help assist intergalactic trouble that came to Earth, and now, universal trouble. He opened the door, causing the daylight to fall upon Gwen's sleeping face. She scrunched up her eyes, before yawning and stretching her arms.

"What time is it, Grandpa?" Gwen asked, sleepily and not fully awake yet.

"About... 5:30am. Bit earlier than usual." he replied, chuckling.

"Ugh!" Gwen turned over in her bed, covering her face with her pillow. "Just once I'd like a full night's sleep!"

Suddenly a loud cracking sound from outside had Gwen jumping to her feet. She managed to hit her head on the top bunk along the way, crying out in anger as she did so.

Grandpa Max stared outside at the source of the sound. "Gwen, you might want to see this."

Outside, a massive gap in the sky was being formed. It was as if an animal had taken to ripping a hole in the sky itself. The void beyond was a deep purple to begin with, followed with a dark space-like colour. From this gap first came what looked to be a massive deer, followed by two unrecognisable creatures with humans upon their backs. One of the creatures was a deep blue, and walked on four legs, while the other was a pink colour and walked on two. It wasn't the weirdest thing Gwen had seen, but it sure was up there with the best of them.

The two humans fell to the floor, quickly running up to Max and Gwen, being the only other humans in the area. Both began talking over each other, yelling about 'Sinnoh' and 'May, Harley and Drew' and some other things Max and Gwen couldn't catch.

"Quiet!" Gwen yelled, rubbing her sleepy eyes. "I'm barely awake and you're both spurting random gibberish at me! What is it?"

The male character looked as if he was going to rebuttal but before he could the girl spoke up. "Sorry, it's been a _weird_ day. I'm Dawn, and this is Ash. You haven't seen any grey spreading in this world, have you?"

Gwen and Max looked at each other, Max nodding to Gwen in a sign of acceptance. "Gwen, get dressed. Ash and Dawn was it? You two should come with me." He stepped outside, before turning around and yelling back into the Rustbucket, "Gwen, bring the laptop with you, too!"

"Where are we going now?" Dawn asked, staring around at the impressive structure in the mountainside.

"We know about the Mainstream's virus. We can talk more once we get inside." Max stated, before opening up the entrance to the new base. The three creatures had followed them across to the entrance. Max just stared at them. "Do they need to come in as well?" He pointed to them.

"Yes we do, Max Tennyson." Arceus spoke to him in his mind. "I have much to discuss as well." Grandpa Max just stared at the strange creatures, but found himself opening the larger entrance to let them in. He'd never been talked to telepathically before by a deer-thing.

* * *

"Thank you so much for your hospitality. I'll be sure to spread the word onto Xaphania. I think she'll be ecstatic that you're already on the case." Aurum said, hanging by the doorway of Mary and Will's apartment. She stood outside, spreading her wings and stretching out her body. "I can tell where the doorway is from here. Good luck to you all!"

And so she was off, the sun shining down on her reflective body before she disappeared into the void between worlds. The rest of the group had returned last night from reaching Spyforce headquarters and equipping themselves with a few more gadgets and getting well wishes from all the Spyforce staff. Now the group was all assembled once more in the house, some still sleepy like Ben and the other younger members, others wide awake, like Divox, Xaster and Xammas.

"So what's our next move, Professor Layton?" Xammas asked, eager to assist in getting back her friends from the virus.

As if on cue, Max's palm computer buzzed in her pocket, causing her to jump. Ben and Luke sniggered at her, before a Max death glare shut them up. They covered their mouths while Max removed the device from her pocket. Upon the screen were two children around their teens, at least, one male and one female.

"It's from Ben's world. There's two new people there with them." Max said, showing the image to Linden and Ben, who had jumped up at the mention of his world.

Ash and Dawn looked at each other before returning to the screen. "Can you here us there?" they asked, their voices growing shaky.

"You're coming in loud and clear. What seems to be the matter?" Max asked.

Dawn looked close to tears by this point, the realisation falling upon her. Ash looked solemn, replying, "Our world's been taken over."

* * *

(**A.N.** Legasp~ That group just keeps on growing, doesn't it? Hope you're all enjoying the story... I sure am enjoying writing it! Chapter 6 coming soon, hopefully!

Constructive criticism is much appreciated, as well as just an idea of how you're all enjoying it! Thanks!

~VOA.)


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